Understanding the Bitcoin Segwit2x Fork Dates and Block Number

In other words, the snapshot block number for Segwit2x is 494,784. Meanwhile, the snapshot date is approximately Nov. 16… but that date is subject to change and is only an approximation of when block 494,784 will occur (it has not other significance to the fork aside being a good guess as to when block 494,784 will happen).

That is really all there is too it. If you are in a wallet or exchange that supports the fork at block 494,784, then you will have 1 Bitcoin Segwit2x for every Bitcoin you own.

The only caveat is that each exchange or wallet that doesn’t let you control your private keys directly might have its own rules.

Thus, if you want full and immediate access to Segwit2x coins with no extra rules, then make sure you are in direct control your private keys when block 494,784 occurs (the simplest way to do this is to be in a full node wallet like Bitcoin Core).

NOTE: Given the way the blockchain works, you don’t have to be in Bitcoin early or stay late. That is, you That you don’t have to be in for block 494,783 or block 494,785. However, this is only true if you control your private keys directly. Third parties, like Coinbase, have special rules. You’ll need to be in 24 hours before the block and after the block with Coinbase for example. In this case it has nothing to do with the block and instead has to do with the way they are handling the transition (they are disabling Bitcoin transactions for 48 hours surrounding the block. So to say this once before I say it again, READ THE FAQ of whatever entity you use.

What happens when the Segwit2x fork occurs? The fork will temporarily (or perhaps even permanently) result in two bitcoin blockchains (and therefore two different “Bitcoins”). Entities such as Coinbase will list these two different coins under two different names. For Coinbase for example, the current bitcoin blockchain will be refereed to as Bitcoin (BTC) and the forked blockchain as Bitcoin2x (B2X). Each exchange/broker/wallet might handle the fork in a different way. So read the FAQ for the source you use.

If enacted, Segwit2x could enable a second hard fork of the bitcoin network in 2017, one that could also result in the creation of yet another version of the bitcoin blockchain with its own unique cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin Cash, created through a hard fork on August 1, is currently trading at just over $300.

Announced in May, Segwit2x is an agreement supported by more than 50 industry startups, miners and technologists and organized by industry investor Digital Currency Group. To date, its developer team has drawn support mainly from industry startups.

Still with a portion of bitcoin’s mining network backing the new bitcoin cash blockchain, it remains to be seen just how many miners on either chain would dedicate computing power to yet another blockchain.

For one, there is already a live version of the blockchain that supports larger blocks. Secondly, with the adoption of SegWit on the bitcoin blockchain, its proponents argue block size is no longer an effective metric for capacity.

Mike Volkmann is a writer and blogger from Germany. He writes contents on current blockchain, cryptocurrency, social media and WordPress. His posts and stories appeared across magazines and websites since 2008.